Republican presidential hopeful Fred Thompson was spotted in some pretty unusual venues on Wednesday seeking to boost financial and voter support – Silicon Valley and San Francisco.

Unusual for the former senator from Tennessee to spend time in such liberal outposts when he’s been insisting since his post-Labor Day entry into the race that he is a true voice for conservatives.

But Southern California fires postponed the first leg of his trip and a campaign spokesman said the former star on NBC’s “Law and Order” sees opportunity in appearing in GOP-light regions. Primary delegates, he noted, will be doled out by congressional district instead of winner-take-all.

So, after a breakfast fundraiser at the Los Gatos home of Kenneth and Linda Raasch, Thompson arrived in San Francisco. He squeezed in a 15-minute question-and-answer session with reporters, and touted his conservative credentials while comfortably answering questions ranging from Iraq to illegal immigration. Then he headed to a fundraiser lunch, the second of three fundraisers on Wednesday, with supporters at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Speaking in the city that’s fighting in court to legalize gay marriage, he said he does not think civil unions or partnerships “are a good idea.” California already grants domestic partnership benefits similar to those given to married couples. He also condemned issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, equating it to “saying, ‘Look, we’ve got to give up. They’re here. Game’s over.’ “

Cities criticized

Thompson said local leaders are “irresponsible” when they say immigration is a federal problem and won’t cooperate with federal crackdowns. He has followed other GOP candidates, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, in calling to strip federal funds from cities, such as San Francisco, that declare themselves sanctuaries for illegal residents.

Depending on the candidates’ definitions, San Jose could be considered a sanctuary city. In March, the city council passed a resolution reaffirming a police practice of not arresting people solely because they are here illegally; criticizing federal raids that snare non-criminals; and stating that no resident should fear arrest or deportation for reporting crimes or contacting city staff.

Thompson also stepped into the debate over whether to confirm President Bush’s selection to be the next attorney general. The nomination of Michael Mukasey appeared to get hung up Wednesday over “water-boarding,” a method of coercing information from suspected terrorists. Thompson did not explicitly rule out its use.

The technique is meant to simulate a near-drowning, and U.S. Senate Democrats want Mukasey to denounce it and label it torture.

Asked by a reporter if “water-boarding is torture,” Thompson said he could not comment on what the Bush administration has done, citing lack of access to classified information.

“Clearly we do not believe in torture in this country,” he said at first. Then later he continued: If “we have enough confidence in our intelligence to be secure in the knowledge that this person has important information that can save the lives of innocent Americans . . . I’ll tell you one thing, as president, the measures will always meet the circumstances and I will do what I think is in the best interest of my country.”

He also chided Senate Democrats “for trying to play politics with that and keep a good man from becoming attorney general.”

Illegal immigration has become a touchstone issue in recent weeks among leading GOP candidates, and questions have been raised about Thompson’s Senate votes, particularly a 1995 vote that has been widely interpreted as supporting federal benefits for illegal immigrants.

Thompson deflected the charge Wednesday, saying the vote was intended to stop an amendment to increase some benefits, though only five Republicans sided with him.

‘Ancient history’

Speaking of his critics, Thompson said, “They’re dredging back into ancient history to come up with some votes to mis-characterize when my opponents have had clear, consistent records on this issue, which they are trying to run away from now.”

Sarah Pompei, a spokeswoman for Romney, responded: “Fred Thompson is as wrong as he is late to this campaign in the debate over tougher immigration enforcement.”

And asked about his level of experience in contrast to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Thompson said only he and Arizona Sen. John McCain have experience on the international scene, dealing with such issues as national security and nuclear proliferation.

Giuliani spokesman Jarrod Agen said Thompson’s experience “is much different than Mayor Giuliani. Rudy actually led a city of millions of people and transformed it into the safest large city in the country.”

The former Tennessee senator is in a close second-place race with Romney and McCain, according to last week’s California Field Poll, behind front runner Giuliani.

But he is widely viewed to have an uphill battle in California.

“I view it as a slingshot candidacy,” said Hoover Institution fellow Bill Whalen, a GOP analyst who is not working for any campaign. His candidacy in California likely will only gain momentum, he said, if Thompson can pull off wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Thompson spokesman Darrel Ng said spending a little time in San Francisco is not a bad strategy, considering how GOP delegates are being divvied up: “If there are only 12 Republicans and we get seven, we win” that district’s delegates.

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